1873 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1873 in Australia.

Governors
Governors of the Australian colonies:
 * Governor of New South Wales – Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead
 * Governor of Queensland – George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby
 * Governor of South Australia – Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet, then Anthony Musgrave
 * Governor of Tasmania – Charles Du Cane
 * Governor of Victoria – John Manners-Sutton, 3rd Viscount Canterbury, then George Bowen
 * Governor of Western Australia – The Hon. Sir Frederick Weld GCMG.

Premiers
Premiers of the Australian colonies:
 * Premier of New South Wales – Henry Parkes
 * Premier of Queensland – Arthur Hunter Palmer
 * Premier of South Australia – Henry Ayers, until 22 July then Arthur Blyth
 * Premier of Tasmania – Frederick Innes, until 4 August then Alfred Kennerley
 * Premier of Victoria – James Francis

Events

 * 9 December – More than 1,000 striking gold miners attack police and Chinese workers brought in to Clunes, Victoria to break the strike.
 * 30 December – Elizabeth Woolcock is hanged at the Adelaide Gaol, the only woman to be executed in South Australia.

Exploration and settlement

 * 19 July – Surveyor William Gosse names "Ayers Rock" after the Premier of South Australia Henry Ayers (later changed to its Indigenous name, Uluru).
 * 3 September – The town of Cooktown, Queensland is founded after gold is discovered at the Palmer River, sparking a gold rush.

Births

 * 28 January – Monty Noble, cricketer (d. 1940)
 * 21 August – Fred Leist, artist (d. 1945)
 * 2 September – Lily Poulett-Harris, founder of women's cricket in Australia (d. 1897)

Deaths

 * 28 January – John Hart, 10th Premier of South Australia (b. 1809)
 * 19 April – Hamilton Hume, explorer (b. 1797)
 * 30 May – Thomas Gilbert, South Australian pioneer (b. 1789)
 * 22 June – Terence Aubrey Murray, NSW politician (b. 1810)
 * 12 November – David Lennox, bridge-builder (b. 1788)
 * 11 December – John West, clergyman, writer and editor of The Sydney Morning Herald (b. 1809)
 * 24 December – Madame Rens, New South Wales settler and merchant (b. 1789)